Privacy Bill Gets Second Chance in House

The U.S. House of Representatives announced Friday that it has placed H.R. 749, a bill that would eliminate the annual privacy notice mailing, on the legislative schedule for consideration under suspension of the rules.

The House website said the bill would be considered the week of March 11; CUNA reported Friday that the bill will be considered Tuesday, March 12.

Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.) reintroduced the bill Feb. 15 after it failed to become law last year. The House passed the bill in December but it was not considered by the Senate.

Currently, H.R. 749 has 48 bi-partisan cosponsors, with 26 Republicans and 22 Democrats signed on, according to the legislative tracking website www.govtrack.us.

CUNA and NAFCU support the bill, which would require privacy notices be mailed only when the policy has changed.

Currently, credit unions are required to send members a copy of the notice each year via mail, regardless of if the policy has changed. CUNA said it estimates credit unions alone have sent one billion annual privacy notifications to consumers since 2001.